Infant son of Mr. and Mrs. John Carosharo

White male, stillborn on 2 November 1918 in Pensacola, FL. The mother was John Carosharo, born in Italy; the mother was Viola Anderson, born in Florida. The physician who signed the certificate was W.D. Nobles; the informant was F.R. Pou, the undertaker who buried in the child in the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery. There is no information on where the the family lived at the time.

John Doverdy Caroshero was born in Genoa, Italy on December 25, 1873. He arrived in the U.S. in Pensacola around 1885, though there are other arrival records for him as late as 1895. He did not immediately reside in Pensacola; rather, he spent a couple of decades in Santa Rosa County, Florida.

The 1900 Federal census of Santa Rosa County, Florida, has John Carasera living in Bagdad, Florida. He was born in Italy, with a birth date of March 1876. Both of his parents were born in Italy. He worked as a day laborer and rented his home. This census indicates he was married to a woman named Mary, who was  9 years his senior. They had been married for four years but had no children. Mary was born in Florida of two parents born in Alabama. Both of them were literate.

I cannot find a record of Mary Carasera to know her name before their marriage, or what happened to her between the 1900 census and John’s marriage to Viola Anderson on June 11, 1909 in Santa Rosa County.

John and Viola had three children: Giovanni (born 1910), Catherine Elizabeth (born 1913), and the stillborn infant that is the subject of this entry.

The 1910 Federal Census finds John still living in Santa Rosa County, in Indian Springs. His name was spelled “Carogierre” in this census, which I believe is probably close to how it would have been spelled in Italian. He was enumerated as being 31 years old; Viola was 19. He worked at a saw mill. This census says he was illiterate, and that he was a resident alien in the U.S. Viola was born in Florida of two parents born in Florida. They had been married one year and had no children yet.

There is a Naturalization Declaration for him from January 1918, which gives his address as 517 W. Zaragossa St. in Pensacola, and his occupation as farmer. In April of that year, he applied for a Seaman’s Protection certificate, stating that he had begun the process of becoming a citizen. This application was endorsed by Giuseppe Caminetti, who said he had known John for five years. Caminetti was the captain of the fishing schooner Tecumseh, which was one of the new gasoline-powered fishing vessels purchased by the Falk Fish Co. in 1917. (According to the application, John Carosharo was 45 years old, 5’6″ tall, had hazel eye, brown hair with a brown complexion, and had a scar on his forehead. He signed with a mark.) Caminetti signed the application on April 2; on April 5, Caminetti lost one of his men to accidental drowning caused by a stroke while the Tecumseh was not far from Pensacola.

Viola Carosharo died in November, two days after her stillborn child, of influenza at her home at 517 W. Zaragossa St. She was 28 years old. Her father was William Anderson, born in Florida; but the informant, F.R. Pou, did not know anything about her mother. The physician who signed the certificate, W.D. Nobles, made no mention of the fact that she had delivered a stillborn child two days earlier. She was buried by F.R. Pou in St. Michael’s cemetery in Pensacola.

John remarried on January 13, 1919 to Flora B. I have not found their marriage record, but he gives the exact date in his 1937 Naturalization Petition. This petition also gives the birth dates of all of his children, including the three he shared wtih Flora: Mable (born 1921); Margaret (born 1926); and Albert Raymond (born 1929).

The 1920 Federal census has John enumerated as John Carrozere. He lived at 517 W. Zaragossa St. in Pensacola. His age is wildly off, given as 23 (he was in his mid-forties) and he worked as a fireman for the City Fire Department. He rented his home and his naturalization status was “alien,” with an immigration year of 1914. One wonders how the census taker got this information. Flora’s age was given as 21; she was born in Florida of two parents born in Florida. Also in the household were Catherine, 6; and Giovanni, 9.

John appears with the name Carosharo in the 1921 Pensacola City Directory, the first extant directory in which he appears. He was listed at the W. Zaragossa St. address, his occupation given as Fisherman.

In the 1930 Federal Census of Pensacola, John and his family were living at 410 South B Street, a home they rented. John was enumerated as 38 years old (still far too young). He gave his age at his first marriage as 18, which is probably correct. His immigration status was Naturalized, which wasn’t quite accurate, and his immigration year was 1900. His occupation was Fireman at a lumber mill. Also in the household was Flora, who in this census gave her father’s birthplace as Germany rather than Florida. Her age was 29, and her age at her first marriage was 19 (presumably to John). Also in the household were Mabel, 9; Marguerite, 4; Raymond, 10 mos.; and Gevarni (Giovanni), 19. Giovanni was working as a laborer at a lumber mill. The family’s surname was spelled “Carrozero.”

In the 1931 Pensacola City Directory, John is listed as Carrosaro, living at 310 S. Coyle St. It does not give his occupation. In 1934 he and Flora were living at 611 W. Zaragossa St., again, with no occupation listed for John.

Mabel Carasharo died on November 21, 1934 at the family’s home at 715 W. Liberty St.. Her cause of death was “Bronchopneumonia (terminal) from which she had suffered for only a few days, inanition thru refusal of food which had gone on for 2 months, and dementia praecox (catatonic) – a term used to describe what we call schizophrenia – which began in 1929. The informant on her death certificate was Catherine Taylor, her sister. She was buried by Fisher-Pou in St. Joseph’s cemetery. (The death certificate spells her last name “Caraselle.”)

In the 1935 Florida State Census, John Carasaro and his family were living at 717 W. Fort St. His age was given as 60, his birthplace as Northern Italy. He completed grammar school, rented his home, and worked as a fireman. Flora was 46, born in Florida. She also had a grammar school education and worked as a housewife. Giovanni (spelled Jevinny) was 24 and worked as a laborer. Margaret, 9; and Raymond, 5, were in the home as well.

The 1936 Pensacola City Directory shows John and Flora still living on Fort St. John worked as a fisherman.

In 1937, John filed a Declaration of Intention to become naturalized. He lived at Main & Clubb Streets in Pensacola and worked as a fisherman. His physical description was: 64 years old, gray hair, gray eyes, ruddy complexion, 6’6″ tall (he grew a foot between 1918 and 1937, apparently), 140 pounds. He said that he had previously made a Declaration of Intention on December 12, 1927 – which would have expired seven years later if nothing proceeded from it). He signed his own name, but not well – it appears to be spelled “Caroseiro.” He gives his arrival date in the U.S. as September 15, 1890, on the ship Maria-Marta.

His Petition for Naturalization was filed on January 22, 1940. He lived at 627 W. Main St. in Pensacola, and worked as a fisherman. His petition was endorsed by G. Marchette, who was in the wood business; and Ernest B. Brown, a shipbuilder. They said they had known Carosharo since 1900. He swore his oath of allegiance to the United States on May 18, 1940.

The signatures on his naturalization paperwork steadily improve with each passing year.

The 1940 Federal Census listed him as John Carsell. He was renting at 627 W. Main St.. He was 66 years old, and in this census he was enumerated as never having gone to school. He worked as a sail rigger. Flora was 45, Margaret 14, and Raymond 10.

The next time John appears in the records is the 1948 Pensacola City Directory. He and Flora were living at 2801 North U St. Giovanni Carosharo and his wife, Hazel C, were living at the house on 627 W. Main. Giovanni was a helper at Warren Fish Co.

The 1950 Federal Census shows John and Flora living at 2630 W. Fisher St. (which appears to have been an apartment building) in Pensacola. John was 78, and answered “yes” to the citizenship question. He was not working and was not seeking work. Flora was 62. Giovanni and Hazel lived at in the same building, Giovanni 40 years old and working as a laborer at a fish company. They had no children.

John and Flora appear in the 1952 Pensacola City Directory living at 2620 W. Fisher Street.

John died on October 29, 1957, at the home of his daughter, Margaret Faircloth. He was 86. His obituary said he had been an employee of both the Warren and E.E. Saunders Fish Companies and had lived in Pensacola for 70 years. He was buried in Whitmire Cemetery.

FAMILY:

Father: John Carosharo

Mother: Viola Anderson Carosharo

Siblings: Giovanni Carosharo, Catherine Elizabeth Carosharo Taylor, Mabel Carosharo, Margaret Carosharo Faircloth Bishop, Albert Raymond Carosharo

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SOURCES:

Florida Certificate of death for Infant of Mr. and Mrs. John Carosharo (No. 13288a), Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Household of John Carasera. Year: 1900; Census Place: Bagdad, Santa Rosa, Florida; Roll: 176; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0108. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.